TODAY'S HEADLINES:Trump will soon sign a bill on strengthening sanctions against Russia - Pence. US regarding the supply of powerful weapons to Ukraine. Under President Donald Trump, US rejects any attempt to use force, threats, intimidation, or malign influence in Baltic states. Russia is trying to redraw the borders, undermine democracy and set up European countries against each other. Under the reign of President Trump USA will engage Russia to respond to destabilizing actions. Pence arrived with a visit to Georgia. Pentagon is worried about plans by Turkey to buy anti-aircraft systems in Russia. Russia can use nuclear power plants built in Belarus as "non-conventional weapons". ﻿Free Trade Agreement between Ukraine and Canada comes into force. Putin's decision on the expulsion of American diplomats immediately affected the number of refusals for Russians to obtain visas in the United States. Russian mercenaries are not allowed on vacation in the territory of the Russian Federation.

Trump will soon sign a bill on strengthening sanctions against Russia, - Pence

US President Donald Trump will soon sign a bill on sanctions against Russia, Iran and the DPRK.

As Tsensor.NET informs with reference to Interfax , US Vice President Mike Pence told a joint press conference with Georgian Prime Minister Georgy Kvirikashvili. The recording of their communication with journalists was distributed on the White House website.

"President Trump will soon sign a bill on strengthening US sanctions against Russia," Pence said.

"Our country prefers constructive relations with Russia, which are based on cooperation and mutual interests," said the vice president of the United States.

Recall that on July 28, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia has demanded to reduce the number of diplomatic and technical staff of the US Embassy in Moscow and the Consulate General in St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg and Vladivostok to 455 people by September 1. In addition, from August 1, the US Embassy in Moscow barred cottage in Silver Forest and storage facilities on the street in Moscow Road.

The US State Department did not specify how many diplomats should leave the Russian Federation, but, according to The Washington Post, it is about a few hundred people.

This decision was made by Moscow after the US Senate voted overwhelmingly for an updated package of restrictive fines against Russia, Iran and North Korea.

WSJ learned about the important arrangement in the US regarding the supply of powerful weapons to Ukraine

The US Department of State and the US Department of Defense have developed a plan for the supply of defensive weapons to Ukraine.

This is reported by the authoritative American edition of The Wall Street Journal.

A spokesman for the Pentagon confirmed the publication that Defense Minister James Mattis approved a plan for supplies to Ukraine, within which it will receive anti-tank weapons, including Javelin ATGM, and anti-aircraft systems.

It is curious that the deployment of units with American weapons is supposed to be at a considerable distance from the line of demarcation in the ATU zone on the Donbas, in order not to provoke an escalation of hostilities.

However, in the administration of the US President the plan has not been discussed yet, and President Donald Trump has not yet been introduced to its content.

Note that according to Ukrainian experts, the Ukrainian army badly needs modern anti-tank weapons like the Javelin ATGM, which can help stop a possible massive tank offensive by Russian troops, and also secure the ATU forces in the Donbas from constant tank firings.

Under President Donald Trump, US rejects any attempt to use force, threats, intimidation, or malign influence in Baltic states, - Pence

The United States is standing with its Eastern European allies now feeling increased pressure from Russia.This was announced by U.S. VP Mike Pence in Tallinn on July 31, Censor.NET reports citing Chicago Tribune.

Vice President Mike Pence, on his first full day in Eastern Europe, twice offered a clear and direct message to Russia, warning the Kremlin that the United States will not tolerate Russian force or intimidation toward its neighbors and reassuring the Baltic States that the U.S. supports them in the face of "the specter of aggression from your unpredictable neighbor to the east."

"Under President Donald Trump, the United States of America rejects any attempt to use force, threats, intimidation, or malign influence in the Baltic states or against any of our treaty allies," Pence said Monday morning, speaking alongside three Baltic leaders at the Estonian president's office here. "To be clear, we hope for better days, for better relations with Russia, but recent diplomatic action taken by Moscow will not deter the commitment of the United States of America to our security, the security of our allies, and the security of freedom loving nations around the world."

Though Pence said he was delivering a message directly from Trump, his stern remarks at times were far more forceful than those of his boss, who has often opted for a softer tone on Russia, including repeatedly refusing to definitively accept the conclusion of his intelligence community that Russia meddled in the 2016 elections.

The vice president also - and perhaps optimistically, in the face of Russia's retaliatory gesture - held out the prospect of what he called "a constructive relationship with Russia, based on cooperation on common interests."

"President Trump has made it clear: America is open to a better relationship," Pence said. "But the president and our Congress are unified in our message to Russia - a better relationship, and the lifting of sanctions, will require Russia to reverse the actions that caused the sanctions to be imposed in the first place."

Russia is trying to redraw the borders, undermine democracy and set up European countries against each other, - Pence

Today, Russia is the greatest threat to the Baltic States (Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia).

According to Cenzor.NET , referring to the BBC , US Vice-President Mike Penn told a statement during a visit to Estonia.

"No threat does not hover over the Baltic states more than the spectrum of aggression on the part of the unpredictable neighbor from the east," he said.

Pence stressed that Moscow continues to "attempt to force the international borders, undermine democracy in sovereign states and set up free countries of Europe against each other."

"A strong and united NATO unit today is more necessary than ever since the fall of communism a quarter century ago," said the vice president. He also added that the United States is ready to protect the security of the Baltic states.

- Commander of the US Army in Europe Ben Hodges July 31 The pension must come to Georgia, which will support the sovereignty and territorial integrity of this country, part of which is occupied by Russia. There, Pence will also attend NATO training.

The visit to Pence will end in Montenegro - a new member of NATO. On August 2, the US Vice President will take part in the Adriatic Charter Summit in Podgorica. The leaders of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Macedonia, Serbia, Slovenia and Croatia will take part in the summit. On August 2, the US Vice President will take part in the Adriatic Charter Summit in Podgorica. The leaders of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Macedonia, Serbia, Slovenia and Croatia will take part in the summit. On August 2, the US Vice President will take part in the Adriatic Charter Summit in Podgorica. The leaders of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Macedonia, Serbia, Slovenia and Croatia will take part in the summit.

Under the reign of President Trump USA will engage Russia to respond to destabilizing actions - Pence

US Vice President Mike Pence claims that during the reign of President Donald Trump, the United States will continue to bring Russia to justice for its destabilizing actions.

Pence said on July 31 during a speech to the Estonian security forces in Tallinn, according to Tsensor. NET with reference to the Crimea.

"President Trump urged Russia to stop destabilizing actions in Ukraine and elsewhere, and to stop supporting the hostile regimes of North Korea and Iran." Under President Trump USA Will continue to engage Russia to account for its actions, and we call on our European allies and friends to do the same. As a sign of our loyalty, President Trump will soon sign a law that strengthens and systematizes US sanctions against Russia," - Said Pence.

He added That in order to improve relations with the United States and lift sanctions, Russia must stop destabilizing actions.

"The advantage for the United States is constructive relations with Russia, based on cooperation, in the common interest." Russia also stated that it would like to normalize its relations with USA Unfortunately, last week, Moscow took a radical step toward reducing the US diplomatic presence in Russia, President Trump clearly made clear: America is open for better relations with Russia, but the president and our Congress are united in the message: improving ting relations and the lifting of sanctions in the first place require of undo, which led to the imposition of sanctions, "- said vice-president of the United States.

Pentagon is worried about plans by Turkey to buy anti-aircraft systems in Russia, complicates relations within NATO

The United States has criticized the plans of Turkey to buy in Russia anti-aircraft systems S-400.As informs Tsensor.NET , reports DW .

"We want our partners in NATO to buy weapons at the same time investing in our alliance," said Jeff Davis, Pentagon spokesman, on Monday, July 31.

Davis expressed concern that the purchase of Russian weapons by Ankara could create difficulties for military engagement within NATO.

However, the purchase of "operational-compatible equipment, in general, is a good idea," he added.

Recall that from mid-July Turkey is negotiating with Russia on the purchase of anti-aircraft systems S-400. The transaction amount can be $ 2.5 billion. Two complexes can deliver from the Russian Federation already in 2018, and two more plan to produce in Turkey itself.

Russia can use nuclear power plants built in Belarus as "non-conventional weapons"

Russia can use the Belarusian NPP, which is being built in Ostrovka, as a "non-conventional weapon".

According to Tsensor.NET, referring to "112 Ukraine " TV channel, on July 31, in Tallinn, Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaitė told US Vice-President Mike Pence.

The Lithuanian president emphasized that the firmness of the United States demonstrated by the United States on the geopolitical energy projects of the Kremlin is of exceptional significance in terms of the emergence of a new threat - the construction of a dangerous Belarusian nuclear power plant near Ostrovka, which can be used as an unconventional weapon.

According to Gribauskaite, the active role of the United States in the regional energy sector is of strategic importance.

"The US decision on sanctions against Russia that affects energy projects is a tight signal that it will not be intimidating the Kremlin's attempts to use its position in the energy sector to manipulate and interfere with the policies of other countries," the Lithuanian president stressed.

According to Grybauskaitė, the long-term involvement of the USA in guaranteeing the security of the region "is vital for the Baltic States".

"The role of the most powerful ally in NATO in reaching decisions in the field of regional air defense is decisive, and the constant presence of US troops and technology in the Baltic countries is the strongest deterrent," she said.

The site of the Belarusian NPP is located near the north-western border of the Republic of Belarus, 18 km from the town of Ostrovets, Grodno region, 50 km from the capital of Lithuania - Vilnius.

According to plans, the first block of nuclear power plants will enter into 2019, the second - in 2020.

The main partner of Belarus in the project for the construction of nuclear power plants - the Russian company Atombudeksport, the sub-suppliers are Belarusian production organizations.

Let's also remind that on July 25 the House of Representatives of the US Congress voted for the bill, which provides for additional sanctions against Russia, Iran and the DPRK. The Senate followed the House of Representatives passed this law. To have the document come into force, it must be signed by US President Donald Trump.

The Free Trade Agreement between Ukraine and Canada came into force today, August 1.

As informs Tsensor.NET with reference to the TV channel " 112 Ukraine ", the Ambassador of Ukraine to Canada Andriy Shevchenko informed.

"Free trade between Ukraine and Canada will begin on August 1. Canada made a present to us on the Constitution Day: we received a government note on the completion of all internal procedures for the entry into force of the Free Trade Agreement. We have a double feeling: the finish and the start are two in one. This is a historic moment that summarizes the colossal work of our diplomats and politicians, but this is the beginning of a much more significant phase: the time to fill this agreement with life - contracts, jobs and investments, "he said.

Recall that the Free Trade Agreement between Ukraine and Canada was signed in Kyiv on July 11, 2016. The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine ratified it on March 14, 2017. President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko signed the ratification law on April 3, 2017.

Thus, it is envisioned that the agreement of August 1 will eliminate 98% of tariffs for Ukrainian goods exported to Canada, 72% of tariffs will be canceled for Canadian goods immediately, and duty free exports will increase to 98% for 7 years.

In addition, the agreement mutually opens the markets for public procurement.

Certain sections of the agreement protect e-commerce and intellectual property.

Putin's decision on the expulsion of American diplomats immediately affected the number of refusals for Russians to obtain visas in the United States

The day before, the Kremlin acknowledged that the massive reduction of US diplomatic missions would also affect Russians.

According to Tsensor.NET , referring to Newsru.com , the consequences of Moscow's decision did not really make it too long: The New York Times reports that Russian citizens are already faced with a sharp increase in the number of refusals to obtain visas in the United States.

An employee of one of the companies helping Russians to obtain US visas told the newspaper that he had never seen such a number of failures as in recent days. "50-60 people received refusals a day, most of them were young women," the interlocutor said.

The newspaper emphasizes that the process of obtaining visas between countries and without the "appropriate measures" of the Kremlin became more and more difficult and tedious. Now Russians, who left the US embassies on Monday, are confident that the situation will become much worse.

On Monday, the US embassy in Russia warned of a possible "reduced efficiency" in issuing visas to the United States due to the expulsion of US diplomatic staff.

"It's too early to make guesses about how this will affect the work of the consular service, but it is quite possible that this will reduce the efficiency of consular activities," said Maris Olson, spokeswoman for the diplomatic mission, answering the question of how the Kremlin's sanctions On terms of issuing visas to Russians.

Last weekend, Russian President Putin announced that Russia would leave 755 American diplomats. By September 1, 2017, according to Putin's order, the staff of all US diplomatic missions in Russia should be reduced to 455 employees.

Presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov then explained that among these 755 US diplomatic staff will be not only diplomats but also technical staff, in particular Russian citizens. Who will be left without work, will decide Washington.

Russian mercenaries are not allowed on vacation in the territory of the Russian Federation

Command of the Russian occupation forces suspended indefinitely exemption from military service officers, and stopped to give them holidays traveling to the territory of Russia.

It informs Tsenzor.NET , as is stated in the press service of Defense Ministry of Defense published on Facebook.

Thus, according to authorities, officers offer to sign new contracts or released with a negative characteristic that prevents further military service in any Russian power structures.

At the same time Defense noted that the compounds and paragraphs 1 (Donetsk) and 2 (Lugansk) AK Armed Forces increased incidence of evasion of military service among junior officers, forcing the Russian command to stop giving them leave by moving in, even In case of death of close relatives.

"Officer 2 AK (Lugansk) Armed Forces Lieutenant Efimenko Konstantin due to failure of the command to give him leave for family reasons with the departure of the Russian Federation tried to commit suicide by stabbing a knife wound chest. Officer taken to hospital m. Kadiyivka" - added The press service of Ukrainian intelligence.

Ukraine and the USA signed an agreement on cooperation in the field of nuclear safety

The agreement will allow cooperation with the US regulator to continue in several directions.

It is reported by the press service of the State Inspectorate for Nuclear Regulation of Ukraine, reports Tsensor.NET .

"Today, the head of the State Inspection on Nuclear Regulation Borys Stolyarchuk signed an agreement to resume the agreement between the SNRCU and the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission for the exchange of technical information and cooperation in the field of nuclear safety," the report said.

According to Stolyarchuk, this will allow cooperation with the American regulator to continue in several directions.

"The exchange of technical information between the domestic regulator and the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission will contribute to the development of the domestic nuclear security sector, and will facilitate this through cooperation within the framework of joint scientific and technical programs and projects, organization of training and exchange of specialists between the SNRCU and the American regulator," Stolyarchuk summed up.

Recall that for the first time, a cooperation agreement between the SNRCU and the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission was signed on 10 April 2006 in Rockville, Maryland, USA, and an amendment to it was signed on September 21, 2011 in Vienna (Austria).

The Prosecutor's Office of the Kiev region has reported suspicion to a 25-year-old man who swallowed over 1 kg of cocaine, poured it into a contraceptive device to smuggle drugs from Brazil to Ukraine. The press service of the prosecutor's office reports.

According to law enforcement officers, the young man agreed to carry the drug for a cash reward of $4,5 thousand. Having received more than 1 kg of cocaine in Brazil, a man poured it into 28 condoms and swallowed it to quietly carry him in the stomach through the customs frontiers.

To keep the drug in the stomach, the man did not eat anything after that and used special medications.

He was detained by law enforcement agencies and sent to a hospital during an inspection in the customs control zone at an international checkpoint.

According to the expert's report, cocaine was in the stomach of a man.

Announcement of the export of coal to Ukraine is in line with Trump's promise to keep the coal industry in the USA

The company from Pennsylvania will ship 700 thousand tons of coal to Ukraine under an agreement that the Donald Trump administration considers an important tool to reduce Russia's influence on its European neighbors.

Despite the fact that the American president proclaimed a course to improve relations with Russia, his administration says that he is trying to use coal exports, natural gas and US oil to prevent Moscow from resorting to natural resources manipulation. Bloomberg writes about this , adding that Ukraine was dependent on oil and gas from Russia. In addition, she lost internal supplies of coal due to the capture of Donbass part by Russian forces. "Over the past few years, Kyiv and almost the whole of Eastern Europe relied on Russia to keep warm. But now it will change. The US can offer Ukraine an alternative, and today we announce that we will do it, "said US Energy Secretary Rick Perry.

At the ceremony in Kyiv, the Pennsylvania company Xcoal Energy & Resources LLC announced an agreement with the Ukrainian Centralenergo to supply 700 thousand tons of coal for heating during the next winter period. The executive director of Tsentrenergo Oleg Kozhemko told reporters that the first 210 thousand tons Ukraine will buy at a price of $ 113 per ton.

"They do not want to depend on Russia, so they are looking for imports elsewhere," said Barry Worthington, executive director of the United States Energy Association.

The publication recalls that US-Russian relations did not improve after Donald Trump became president of the United States. US intelligence agencies accuse Moscow of interfering in elections to help defeat Trump, who promised to improve relations with the Kremlin. And the Congress recently approved new sanctions against Russia, to which Putin reacted by expelling American embassy workers and confiscating American real estate in Moscow.

Trump said that American oil, coal and natural gas could become a potential diplomatic weapon. "Russia earns its money by selling oil, and we have more oil than anyone else." Nobody knew about it five years ago. And I want to use it, "said Trump last month.

The announcement of the export of coal to Ukraine is also in line with Trump's promise to keep the coal industry in the United States. "American coal will replace Russian in order to preserve energy security and diversification," said Ernie Thrasher, executive director of Xcoal.

In Russia the truck lost a ton of fish: the bears came and ate everything

Freshly chewed keto fell from KamAZ, driving a drunk driver

In Russian Nikolayev-on-Amur, about a ton of fish was poured from the truck on the road, but all of it was eaten by bears.

It is reported by the local district administration, reports Interfax-Ukraine.

"The cargo car was carrying fish from the fishing collective farm and on the rise near the Mykolayiv part of the cargo - no more than a ton - fell on the road. The rivers are empty now, the bears have a smell, got on the road and ate everything ", - representative of the district administration Alexander Shalygin.

As the portal "Guberniya Online" specifies, the incident occurred on Sunday, July 30, on the Nikolaevsk-on-Amur highway - the Mago. It is noted that freshly chewed catwalk fell out of KamAZ, driving a drunk driver.

In social networks, there were pictures of this incident - a road littered with fish, and four foes that enjoy the sudden feast.

Two people were rescued after shooting in the building of the Moscow Regional Court

It is reported by "Interfax" with reference to the press service of the Ministry of Health of the Moscow region.

"13:50 assault on the convoy of Mosoblsud (...) The brigade arrived at 14:00, two injured: a man 40-45 years old (...) A woman 40 years old, there was no fire in the fire," the press service said. Departments

The victims were taken to the Krasnogorsk city hospital №1 in the state of average severity. Their life is not threatened.

Also, the Ministry of Internal Affairs confirmed the liquidation of three figures of the case of the "GTA gang", which allegedly attacked police officers in the building of Mosoblsud when trying to escape. "During the accidental opening of the elevator, when trying to escape the three detainees were eliminated, two were wounded," said Tetyana Petrov, a representative of the regional police headquarters.

According to the source of the agency, all attackers are the guilty parties of the "GTA gang" criminal case.

Spain will give the US Russian hacker, who is threatened with 35 years of jail

Spanish court decided to extradite to the US Russian programmer Stanislav Lisov

The court hearing on the issue of his extradition was held in Madrid, informs RIA Novosti.

On it the forest did not recognize its fault. Forest was arrested in Barcelona in January 2017. The Civil Guard reported after the arrest that the reason was the US request that declared the Russian to an international wanted.

In the United States, Russian programmer suspected of developing a "banking trojan," Never Quest, which provided fraudsters access to computers of other individuals and financial institutions to steal bank account information.

The study of servers located in France and Germany, allegedly operating the Lisov, allowed to locate databases with stolen information about accounts in banking institutions, including the remainder of funds.

At the same time Lisnov allegedly worked not alone, it is a "criminal organization", but how many people there, the Spanish side has not yet known. Forest in the United States threatened to 35 years in prison.

The United States requires the extradition from Spain of Peter Levashov, a Russian hacker with the pseudonym Peter Severa, who spent almost two decades on advanced Russian cybercrime.

In Europe, at least five alleged Russian hackers have been detained for the last nine months at the request of the United States of America.

US Vice President stated that he supported Georgia's intention to join NATO

The United States supports Georgia's course towards NATO and supports the territorial integrity of a country that has undergone Russian aggression

This was stated by Vice-President of the USA Mike Pence, передает "Голос Америки" .

"Georgia is a strategic partner for us. We support your territorial integrity and your aspiration to become a NATO member," Pens said.

According to him, the United States strongly condemns Russian occupation of Georgian territories.

"Only 40 miles from where we stand - Russian tanks are located in the occupied territory of South Ossetia, Russia occupied one in five of Georgia, I want to make it clear: the United States strongly condemns the occupation of Georgian land by Russia," said US Vice President .

In addition, he noted that Georgia is already pursuing its defense objectives, which NATO defines.

"It's good to see that Georgia already exceeds the target defense expenditures set by NATO at 2 percent of GDP," Pens noted.

﻿Pentagon on arms supply to Ukraine: A turning point was the Russian reaction to NATO's actions to protect East European members

The probable decision to provide Ukraine with weapons will make it clear to President Vladimir Putin that the US does not intend to put up with the provocative military activity of Russia in the future, said the former Pentagon's high-ranking official, Daniel Gure.

The probability of supplying arms to Ukraine by the United States of America is becoming more and more real. Such an opinion in an interview with Radio Liberty was expressed by the former Pentagon's high-ranking official, Daniel Goure.

"The Russian reaction to NATO's actions to protect its Eastern European members was a critical moment for the Trump administration ( US President Donald Trump - "GORDON" ). We are seeing more and more provocative incidents against US aircraft and ships from Russia," he said.

According to Gure, the discussion of the idea of ​​supplying weapons began with the involvement of people from the Trump environment few months ago. The situation was also influenced by the fears of Eastern European countries that the Russian-Belarusian studies "The West", to be held in mid-September, could become a rehearsal for further operations.

"In this context, the decision to grant Ukraine military weapons, first, will make it clear to Moscow that it should not expect a light victory in Ukraine, and secondly, will give President Putin an idea that the United States will not intend to tolerate provocative military activity in the future. Russia. It is clear that the supply of such weapons does not radically change the balance of power in the east of Ukraine, but depending on what weapons they can transfer, they will significantly complicate the possible Russian actions, "the former Pentagon member believes.

He noted that, when making the final decision, Trump could either disagree with the generals' views on this issue either.

"So now the situation is not clear," Gore said.

Ukraine, from the outset of Russia's military aggression in the spring of 2014, is in talks with Western countries on the delivery of lethal weapons, but so far unsuccessful. At present, the United States only provides non-lethal assistance to Kyiv (including armored Humvee cars, RQ-11B Raven unmanned aerial vehicles and counterbalanced radar ) and assist in the preparation of Ukrainian military personnel.

In February 2016, the former NATO Allied Commander Europe, General Philip Bradley, offered recommendations to the US Government to grant Ukraine lethal weapons.

In May 2017, former NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen gave the same advice to the new White House administration .

Special Representative of US State Department Kurt Volcker July 25 in an interview with the BBC said that Washington is actively considering the issue of possible supplies of weapons to Ukraine.

On July 31, The Wall Street Journal wrote that the US had developed a plan for supplying defense weapons to Ukraine . We are talking about the transfer of anti-tank missile systems Javelin and air defense.

The US budget for 2017 will provide Ukraine with $ 350 million in aid to enhance security and defense.

Pentagon offers plan to arm Ukraine and are seeking White House approval

The U.S. Pentagon and State Department have devised plans to supply Ukraine with antitank missiles and other weaponry and are seeking White House approval, U.S. officials said, as Kyiv battles Russia-backed separatists and ties between Moscow and Washington fray, according to The Wall Street Journal.

American military officials and diplomats say the arms, which they characterized as defensive, are meant to deter aggressive actions by Moscow, which the U.S. and others say has provided tanks and other sophisticated armaments as well as military advisers to rebels fighting the Kyiv government, WSJ wrote. Since Russia invaded and annexed Ukraine's Crimean peninsula in 2014 and then began supporting Russian-speaking insurgents in the country's east, Washington, wary of escalating the conflict, has largely limited its support for Kyiv's military to so-called non-lethal aid and training.

A senior administration official said there has been no decision on the armaments proposal and it wasn't discussed at a high-level White House meeting on Russia last week. The official said President Donald Trump hasn't been briefed on the plan and his position isn't known. Some U.S. and Ukrainian officials said they expect it could be months before the White House makes a final determination. A Pentagon spokeswoman, Lt. Col. Michelle L. Baldanza, said the U.S. has not "ruled out the option" of providing "lethal defensive weapons to Ukraine." U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis has endorsed the plan, according to U.S. officials. Germany and France remain deeply skeptical about providing arms to Ukraine, fearing that such moves would raise tensions and deepen the conflict there. But U.S. officials said they expect allies, possibly including the U.K., Canada, Poland and Lithuania to be open to increased military support. "It is really important we don't inflame the situation," said British National Security Adviser Mark Sedwell. "There has been quite a lot of agitation from across the border in the east."...............

Coal supplies to Ukraine, the administration of the United States of America, Donald Trump, considers the important tool to reduce Russia's influence on its European neighbors, first of all, through manipulations with the help of natural resources.

Bloomberg writes about this, adding that Ukraine, many years after the collapse of the USSR, was dependent on oil and gas from Russia, reports ZN.ua.

The edition reminds that the Pennsylvanian company Xcoal Energy & Resources LLC has announced an agreement with the Ukrainian "Tsentrenergo" to supply 700 thousand tons of coal for heat supply during the next winter period. The executive director of Tsentrenergo Oleg Kozhemko told reporters that the first 210 thousand tons Ukraine will buy at a price of $ 113 per ton.

Bloomberg also quoted the same Trump, who said that American oil, coal and natural gas could become a potential diplomatic weapon.

"Russia earns its money by selling oil, and we have more oil than anyone. Nobody knew about it five years ago, and I want to use it," Trump said in July.

In addition, the announcement of coal exports in Ukraine is also in line with Trump's promise to keep the US coal industry.

"American coal will replace Russian in order to preserve energy security and diversification," said Ernie Thrasher, executive director of Xcoal.

Last year, the United States exported more than 60 million tons of coal.

Recall that the White House also said that the agreement to supply to Ukraine of American coal will stop the country's energy dependence on "changing neighbors" and will ensure a solid diversification in this area.

Bad choices made by Putin might lead to new Cold War between Washington and Moscow

Twenty-five years after the Cold War ended, relations between Russia and the U.S. are back in a deep freeze.

The Washington Post editorial board wrote in an article, Censor.NET reports.

The current tension did not come about because the United States suddenly wanted its old adversary back. What happened is a response to bad choices taken by President Vladimir Putin of Russia. These choices were made deliberately in Moscow, perhaps for Mr. Putin's own reasons of domestic politics and foreign policy. They are the main reason for the tension that now exists.

Mr. Putin chose to seize Crimea from Ukraine, annex it and then instigate an armed insurrection in southeastern Ukraine in 2014, violating all post-World War II norms of national sovereignty. The war in the Donbas region was a tactic by Mr. Putin to inject further instability into Ukraine after Ukraine's president, Putin ally Viktor Yanukovych, fled his palace in the face of mass protest. Mr. Putin was aggrieved at Ukraine's decision to sign a pact with the European Union, but Ukraine is not a vassal of Russia, and Mr. Putin's claims to a sphere of influence are untenable. The sanctions imposed by the United States and Europe were a response to Mr. Putin's ill-considered impulse to use violence as a tool of intimidation and coercion.

Another poor and deliberate choice was to interfere with the U.S. election campaign. Mr. Putin cannot escape responsibility for Russian attempts to damage the candidacy of former secretary of state Hillary Clinton and, perhaps, tilt the election to Donald Trump. We know that Mr. Putin seethed over Ms. Clinton's outspoken support for the principle of free speech during the 2011-2013 protests against him, but he is altogether wrong to think the United States engineered the unrest. Mr. Putin and his aides cynically deny they attempted to interfere in the U.S. election, but surely they know exactly what occurred and how. The sanctions imposed by President Barack Obama last December and recently tightened by Congress did not appear out of thin air. They are a logical response to Mr. Putin's attempt to meddle in American democracy.

Have these choices had positive consequences for Russia or global stability? Mr. Putin behaves as though he believes Russia is walking tall. Perhaps in his zero-sum world, he takes satisfaction in the chaos rippling through U.S. politics, but his tactics have backfired badly in both Ukraine and the United States. And Mr. Putin's choices have been costly for Russia, its economy and its people.

We have long believed that U.S.-Russian engagement is essential to avert miscalculation, and it remains important for both Washington and Moscow to keep talking. But Mr. Putin should not expect the West to suddenly forgive or forget his bad choices. He would be wiser to deal with the underlying source of tension than to sit around plotting new ways to escalate it.